<p>Thank you, coureur - I wanted to suggest Kenyon as well, but was afraid that the OP would reject it because of its location (a rather bucolic small town).</p>
<p>Smith is a perfect example of something that’s not a metropolitan area, but you’ll find plenty of story and characters in the Northampton area.</p>
<p>I second the NYU suggestion.</p>
<p>Georgetown</p>
<p>Another vote here for Reed.</p>
<p>This school (or “schools”) may not fit all your criteria, but are you familiar with St. John’s College? </p>
<p>[St</a>. John’s College](<a href=“Concrete CMS Is An Open Source Content Management System For Teams”>http://www.sjca.edu/)</p>
<p>They have two campuses, one in Annapolis, MD and one in Sante Fe. They have no “majors” instead their interdisciplinary curriculum centers on “the great books of the Western tradition.” They are also a “Colleges that Change Lives” school.</p>
<p>Their not big sports schools. At Annapolis their big rivalry is in croquet with the Naval Academy.</p>
<p>coureur and PizzaGirl: I really wouldn’t “object” to any suggestion, whatsoever. Any suggestion offered is, I’m sure, offered from the heart, and I am grateful for it. I know Kenyon pretty well, and think highly of it, but I don’t think my daughter would think it was for her. I believe that around 85% of the kids are white, and while I haven’t looked it up, I would guess that the vast majority are from the Midwest. In other words, Kenyon would be quite a bit like where she grew up (though not quite in the Midwest). I think she’d prefer somewhere with more of every ethnicity and cultural background.</p>
<p>If she were to go somewhere in Ohio, I think Oberlin might interest her more because of its connection to the conservatory.</p>
<p>For those who say what she wants is contradictory: Of COURSE it is <em>grin</em> If it weren’t, I’d probably know exactly where to send her. It’s why I’m asking for help. I doubt the perfect place exists, but there are definitely some ideas on here that hadn’t occurred to me.</p>
<p>Thanks again to all respondents.</p>
<p>Adding U of Iowa to the list.</p>
<p>My young cousin did post-doc program there, and is currently a guest prof in their writing program. I don’t know anything about student diversity, just that it is a magnet for writers.</p>
<p>Although Middletown doesn’t exactly fit the bill, Wesleyan probably would.</p>
<p>what about MIT? She can find her peer group there, take classes at Harvard in what ever areas MIT doesn’t offer[ fine arts, etc] and they have an exceptional Humanities program. MIT is NOT just about STEM. I know a brilliant girl in the Linguists program there- she was one of the “scary-smart” students at my son schools[ created her own language in HS after getting inspiration from seeing Lord of the Ring in 8th grade]. I think it might BE the perfect place for her- urban, surrounded by brilliant quirky students- and they would snatch her up in a nano-second because of her smarts, diverse interests, abilities, accomplishments and, I hate to say it- because she is a female.
[MIT</a> SHASS: Undergraduate Studies - Majors](<a href=“http://shass.mit.edu/undergraduate/mmj/majors]MIT”>http://shass.mit.edu/undergraduate/mmj/majors)</p>
<p>menloparkmom: Now, MIT is something that never, ever, ever occurred to me. I had no idea that MIT has an exceptional humanities program. Thanks much!</p>
<p>You didn’t mention LACS–there are quite a few have are academically challenging and have creative writing progams/institutes, etc. The ones that come to mind: Sarah Lawrence, Bryn Mawr, Bard, and Vassar. All fairly near urban areas.</p>
<p>I’d suggest McGill, Brown, Yale, Hobart & William Smith (which flunks the location criterion), second Smith,add Mt. Holyoke, Middlebury (also flunks location), Oberlin.</p>
<p>She might want to try for MaCauley (spelling) at CUNY.</p>
<p>…but: you are not looking for just a cw program; you are looking for the best of her options. As an example, when you look at Smith, look at the classes in the other schools in its consortium- Amherst, Hampshire, MHC, UMass Amherst. I did a fast run through and there seems to be much overlap. Take a deeper look. Actually look at classes and the faculty.</p>
<p>And agree, she may hate Middletown. It’s ho-hum, at best; that’s generous. But, Wes’s program is exciting.</p>
<p>I am getting the impression you want a small college with diverse students. Here are some that come to mind: College of Wooster, Southwestern University, Trinity University, Austin College, Denison University…</p>
<p>OP, the opportunity to cross register at Harvard for classes that MIT does not offer, means she can have her cake [at MIT] and eat it too [at Harvard]!!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Penn and Hopkins both have great creative writing programs and vibrant, story-filled cities. Brown, too, although I don’t like its writing program as much.</p></li>
<li><p>Why does she think Chicago takes itself too seriously? She isn’t required to do that. Chicago sounds perfect for her, especially since she may not need great creative writing classes.</p></li>
<li><p>Berkeley, UCLA, USC screenwriting program maybe. McGill, Toronto. Texas. Heck, Rice.</p></li>
<li><p>Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford. Duh. Princeton’s writing program is wonderful – just incredible faculty. Princeton NJ is a snoozer, but it’s not at all hard to get into NYC or Philly. Ditto Stanford, with appropriate left-justification.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>newjersey17: Actually, newjersey, I think a small school might not be what she really wants and needs, unless it’s in a metro area and not too screened off from the surrounding neighborhoods. Of the suggestions here, for instance, I’m not so sure about Vassar. I love the place and it’s absolutely gorgeous, but it seems to be, basically, a gated community sealed off from Poughkeepsie. As my daughter, I’d like to keep her safe and sound in a plastic bubble. As a young lady who needs to experience the world, I’d like to drop her into 19th century Hell’s Kitchen and have her walk to whatever college she finds nearest. So, somewhere in between is probably best '-).</p>
<p>I think Sarah Lawrence may be a very good choice as far as LACs go. But, here’s the thing, and I’m sure all of the respondents have noticed this: for socio-economic reasons, the more academically accomplished the students tend to be at a given school, and the more expensive the school, the less likely it is that they are from diverse ethnicities and economic backgrounds. So, I like the idea of honors colleges within larger communities, and you tend to find those at large, public schools.</p>
<p>The Claremont Colleges might work. Not all that diverse, but the schools, themselves, have very different flavors, and she might like Pitzer and/or Scripps a great deal. St. John’s Annapolis is one of my favorite schools of all time, and I love, love, love the curriculum, but it’s almost 90% white kids. I recognize that consortiums allow kids at small LACs to attend much larger universities on occasion, but that’s not the same as being immersed.</p>
<p>CUNY is still looking like a good bet. NYU isn’t out of the question. Barnard definitely deserves a look. Hadn’t thought of Brandeis, but we’ll look into that. Does anyone know anything about the New School?</p>
<p>Colorado College is a very interesting, quite non-traditional place. They’re on a block schedule - the student takes only one class for 3 1/2 weeks - with a couple of days in between each block. There is the opportunity for study abroad and there is a creative writing program - </p>
<p>[Creative</a> Writing](<a href=“http://www2.coloradocollege.edu/dept/en/englishmajor/creativewriting.asp]Creative”>http://www2.coloradocollege.edu/dept/en/englishmajor/creativewriting.asp)</p>
<p>as well as a visiting writers series - </p>
<p>[The</a> English Department | The English Major](<a href=“http://www2.coloradocollege.edu/dept/en/visitingwriters/index.asp]The”>http://www2.coloradocollege.edu/dept/en/visitingwriters/index.asp)</p>
<p>It’s in Colorado Springs and is just gorgeous. It may be worth her looking into even though it’s not close to NYC.</p>
<p>OP - Just saw your last post - I don’t think that the New School would be up to her par academically. From the sense of her that I get from your description, she needs a student body that would be interesting to her.</p>
<p>JHS: About Chicago. My son went there and mostly had a great experience. But he’s a different kind of kid from my daughter. I do think Chicago takes itself very seriously, and I’m fine with that. I actually had a conversation with a faculty member there about the difference between graduate schools of ancient studies at Chicago and Penn. He said, “Penn faculty laughs sometimes.” </p>
<p>I like the UofC. I think it’s a shining example in many, many ways. But the arts are very anemic there, Hyde Park is a bit of an island, and the Loop seems much farther away than it really is. Just not a great place for my daughter (nor is my alma mater, for that matter).</p>
<p>Just for the record, I edited the literary journal at MIT. MIT has the resources to attract superb humanities profs and writers, but you have to love math and science to thrive (or survive).</p>
<p>I have never actually recommended this, but perhaps she is exactly the type of person who would benefit from not starting college right away? If she is that smart, and that gifted, maybe what she really needs is some life experience?</p>
<p>I suspect that the problem is more that as her parent (and trust me, I get this completely, you are looking to make sure she gets it just right. But there is no one perfect college that will have the just right alchemy to turn her splendid ingredients into magical gold. it is all inside her already, and she’ll make of it what she will along her path — and because of who she already is, it sounds like all her options will be good ones.</p>
<p>A writer is a writer no matter what life the writer lives. Grace Paley wrote one of the most amazing stories in the English language about ironing. If she loves cities, she’ll write about them, if she finds the quiet countryside transforms her… pastoral poetry may be her medium.</p>
<p>So let her go through the process. I agree with others that it sounds like she prefers urban and complex. NYU can’t be beat for being in the midst of urbanity. UCLA for the other coast. </p>
<p>Just don’t faint when she tells you she transfered to nursing or nuclear physics. I went from pure math to poetry to law. One never knows.</p>